


a step forward

by eternalmagic



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Gen, also since i think it was glossed over in game? or something, also sojiro makes an appearance but its brief so hes not tagged, gen - Freeform, i really want these two to be friends without it being weird between them, missing scene basically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-07
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2019-01-10 07:23:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12294162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternalmagic/pseuds/eternalmagic
Summary: "But Idothink you're sweet for actually apologizing. Most guys in your shoes wouldn't." She tilts her head far enough to the side to try and catch his eye. When she does, she smiles. "I appreciate you saying something."Yusuke's expression brightens, minutely.[ yusuke apologizes to ann for his actions when they met. ]





	a step forward

**Author's Note:**

> this is set sometime between madarame and kaneshiro's palace. i wasn't quite satisfied that yusuke didn't really say anything about his actions towards ann when they first met, or if he did i don't remember it happening. so, have a small fix for that.
> 
> also, just. yusuke and ann friendship is true wlw/mlm solidarity once they get over the awkward start.

The message comes as she's finishing up a small shoot afterschool. 

**Yusuke: Are you terribly busy today?**

Part of her wonders, briefly, if he's trying to get her to be his model again. Yusuke hadn't made any mention of it recently, but Ann knew it likely wasn't off of the table yet. To be honest, she really isn't in the mood to deal with telling Yusuke no  _again_. She'd thought he might have finally dropped the subject.

When she checks her phone again, there's another message.

**Yusuke: I was hoping to speak with you, briefly. About...a few things.**

Ann really,  _really_  hopes this isn't about being his muse. But she still texts him back once she's heading home despite the risk.

**Ann: srry for not textin back, photoshoot. you want to talk?**

**Yusuke: Yes, if you are not otherwise engaged. Perhaps we could meet at Leblanc?**

The café isn't too far away, at least. Ann still has a few concerns, but she figures she'd be a bad friend if she didn't at least hear him out. She lets Yusuke know she's on her way, and he agrees to meet her there.

 

 

Yusuke is waiting for her in the front booth, and looks up when she comes in. His face brightens visibly, and he stands to greet her.

"Ann." He inclines his head, polite as ever. "Thank you for agreeing to see me."

"Sure thing. Anything for a friend." She drops her bag on the side opposite of Yusuke's things. She waves over at Boss, who nods and smiles at her when he notices her arrival.

They spend a few minutes catching up and letting Boss take their orders. But as the cafe's owner heads back to the counter, Ann finds herself unsure of what else to say. They can get through small talk just fine, but it seems both of them have something on their mind, and it's obvious that neither of them knows how to broach the subject. Ann doesn't exactly want to start off by saying something like,  _Hey, glad you're my teammate and all, but the nude modelling talk creeps me out!_  She does genuinely like Yusuke, in spite of the occasional awkwardness he causes. Saying something like that out of the blue might ruin the friendship they have.

Yusuke has fallen silent as well, eyes cast down at his hands.  Whatever he's wanting to talk about must be weighing heavily on his mind, if his expression is anything to go off of. Ann turns her attention elsewhere. She takes in the large covered object sitting behind his school bag, and she finds herself curious as to what it could be. It looks like a canvas, based on its shape. He really does bring one with him everywhere, huh?

A few minutes pass, and the silence grows to be uncomfortable. She fiddles with her hair, unsure of what to say.

Ann hates this.

"Sooooo." She tilts her head, trying not to look as awkward as she feels. Her gaze keeps turning toward the covered painting. She clears her throat. "What'd you want to talk about?"

Yusuke doesn't look up. "I was hoping to apologize to you."

Ann blinks.

"Huh?"

He turns pink at the ears, unable to meet her eyes. He opens his mouth and he races into his explanation. "For my behavior when we met. I am aware that I may seem eccentric to others, and the reasons I have for doing things are not necessarily--"

"Yusuke, slow down." She interrupts, frowning. "Where did this come from?"

He still can't meet her eyes for a few moments, and it looks like he's thinking over his words rather carefully. "...It's come to my attention that most women do not appreciate being approached out of the blue by a man. Especially if that man has followed them for some time."

She can't exactly argue with that. "Well, yeah, I did think it was kinda. Y'know. Strange."

Yusuke shifts  in his seat. "It never even occurred to me that my actions then would make it seem like I was stalking you. The discomfort I caused you was something I hoped to apologize for."

Ann tilts her head, smiling softly. "It turned out just fine, right? Besides, being asked to model for an artist can be flattering."

"But--" He finally looks up at her again, face tinted pink. He looks ashamed. "But then I made  _that_  uncomfortable for you as well. By asking for it to be done in the nu--"

Ann makes a noise of protest, shooting up and leaning over the table to cover Yusuke's mouth with her hands--Leblanc isn't busy, per se, but she doesn't want him blurting out that he'd wanted to paint her  _naked_  in public. Especially with Boss coming around the counter with their coffee and curry.

Sojiro eyes them both suspiciously when he reaches their table, eyes darting between the two. Ann gives him her best smile.

"Everything okay over here?" Sojiro asks.

"Yep! Just fine!" Ann says in a sing-song.

The look Sojiro gives her makes it apparent that he doesn't believe her at all. He just shakes his head, sets down their meals, and wanders off again with an expression of mild amusement.

Ann turns back to Yusuke, who's been staring at her with wide eyes. "Don't--just  _don't_  talk about that right now." She releases him and sits back down again.

Yusuke slides down a little in his seat, watching her as she starts in on the curry. After a while, he speaks again. "I must to apologize for  _that_  as well."

She pauses in eating, watching his expression. He meets her eyes briefly, before turning away and continuing.

"I was raised around art, and it's common to have life models to draw and paint from. I...knew it could come off as something more sensual to a person who was not an artist, though, and I used that." He turns pink around the ears again. "I used that conception to try and force you and the others to leave well enough alone, to make you think I would paint you and then expose you. That is inexcusable behavior, and I must apologize for it."

Ann sits back in the booth, watching the boy across from her. He wasn't wrong. Trying to force a woman into silence in that way was gross and uncalled for--it was good that he recognized that.

That was the thing: Yusuke wasn't a bad person. Socially awkward, maybe, and definitely a bit sheltered, but he meant well. She liked to think they were friends, even with the continued talk of modelling for a piece making things a bit strained. Ann hadn't been sure if he'd even realized what he had been doing was coming off like he was a massive creep, since sometimes he was completely unable to pick up on social cues. But he'd figured it out, and was trying to make amends.

He was trying, and she guessed that's what mattered.

"Well, I can't lie. I was super  _not_  okay with it when you brought it up the first time." Ann crosses her arms. "And still not really okay with it now. To be honest...I was worried you might try to ask me to model again today."

"I see." Yusuke stares down into his coffee. "That is a fair assumption."

"But I  _do_  think you're sweet for actually apologizing. Most guys in your shoes wouldn't." She tilts her head far enough to the side to try and catch his eye. When she does, she smiles. "I appreciate you saying something."

Yusuke's expression brightens, minutely.

Ann nods, glad to have eased some of his unease--he did just apologize to her and all. She sits back and returns her attention to her curry. "So--who told you, anyway?" She asks between bites. "'Bout it being awkward?"

He freezes for a few moments. "...Ryuji. He took me aside on our last trip to Mementos. He said enough to make me realize how inappropriate I had been."

"Ah." Ann makes a mental note to buy that boy a beef bowl or two in the near future. "I hope he wasn't too mean about it."

"He was rather blunt, but that is his way. It helped me understand what I had done sooner than I might have otherwise."

They fall mostly quiet at that, focusing on the meal before them. (As usual, Boss' cooking is divine. Is it sad that Ann sometimes thinks she could live off of Leblanc's curry alone? Because she probably could.) The TV on the opposite side of the shop continues droning on in the background, Sojiro sometimes commenting on it under his breath. The pair of customers he had finish their meal and head out, leaving them alone in the cafe. The silence between them is deafening, though--she isn't sure she can forgive Yusuke immediately, but she does appreciate that the issue's been addressed. But now that that's been talked about, she isn't sure what else to say. She doubts Yusuke knows what to say, either.

Eventually, her curiosity gets the better of her. She gestures to the canvas sitting next to him. "So. Do you just always have to have a canvas with you? Is it like, impossible for you to wander around without one on hand?"

"I brought it for you, actually. A gift." He says quietly, though he smiles at her attempt at humor. He removes the cloth covering and sits it actually on the table. He does not say anything as she studies it, watching her reaction.

She remembers it, of course--it was half the reason she'd agreed to go to Madarame's exhibit in the first place. The abstract landscape painting had grabbed her attention as she'd been flipping channels the night before the exhibit opened. The feeling of intense frustration the piece had radiated had reached her even through her television, and only intensified when she saw it in person. That anger...she'd felt it resonating with her when she saw this painting. It was like the unbridled rage she'd felt when awakening to Carmen, when facing Kamoshida's shadow. It was an anger she knew well.

She also remembers how Yusuke had reacted to her interest that day--brushing aside his own piece as something lesser, as something to be passed over in favor of something else. That was half the reason she'd assumed it was his instead of his master's, looking back. She's glad that now he wouldn't need to feel like something to just be passed by.

The painting looks much the same as it had in the exhibit, though some of the anger that had drawn her to it before is softened now. Maybe it's just the cafe's lighting. In the bottom corner, Madarame's signature has been painted over. Instead, the silhouette of a fox and the characters of Yusuke's first name have been painted in white.

"You had shown so much interest in it...and I was able to claim it along with my other works once the police investigation was over." Yusuke says finally. "So I thought it best to give it to you."

"Yusuke..." Ann murmurs, tearing her eyes away from the canvas. Her expression melts into something soft, and she rests her chin in her hand. "You don't need to give me this."

He twists a strand of hair around his finger idly, looking bashful. "I wanted to. As...as a token of apology. And as thanks for saving me from a terrible fate."

"It's..." She thinks for a moment, reaching out to run her hand along the edge of the canvas. "It's really something, Yusuke. And to think that now I have a Kitagawa original." She winks at him. "Thank you, really."

Yusuke inclines his head. "You are most welcome. I know that you may not entirely forgive my actions so readily, but perhaps...this could be a good way to start off on a better foot?"

Ann's smile stretches from ear to ear. "Yeah! I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."

Yusuke smiles a little more broadly now. "I'm happy to hear it."

"Now, if only Morgana would say something about how he acts around me, then I'd be set..." Ann mutters, and that earns her a laugh.

They dissolve into an easy conversation after that, the tension that had surrounded them during Yusuke's apology vanishing like smoke. They talk about movies (Yusuke has seen some of Ann's favorites, though only for the composition and not for story) and Ann complains a little about her modelling career (Mika is still rubbing her success in everyone's face at the agency). She lets Yusuke ramble about his upcoming exhibition, and how he's certain the inspiration he got from his trip to Mementos will make it a winner. They wander from topic to topic, and they lose track of time. The next time they even try to look at the clock, Boss is kicking them out.

She waves goodbye to Yusuke as they part ways in the train station, the painting she'd gotten held carefully in her hands. There is a spring in her step as she starts off to her apartment, and she hums quietly to herself. When she gets home, she hangs the painting and immediately takes a picture of it for Shiho.

**Ann: this is the painting i told you about!**

**Ann: i cant wait for you to see it in person**

She knows Shiho won't respond since it's late and she isn't even sure Shiho will have her phone, but she sends it anyway.

 

 

The next time they meet up at the hideout, Ann leans against the railing next to Yusuke and fishes a box of Pocky from her purse. She wiggles it in her hands, beaming. "Share with me?"

Yusuke's face erupts into a smile. "I'd love to."

They split the treat as they wait for Akira and Morgana to arrive, both poking fun at Ryuji when he trips on the nearby stairs while going to the bathroom. Whatever tension had been in the air between them before has disappeared.

Ann could get used to this.


End file.
